News
20 mn new tea plants to be cultivated next year
..a bid to revive output that had dropped in last five years
Moves were under way to cultivate 20 million new tea plants next year with a view to increasing the national tea production, which had been hampered during the last few years, Company Estate Reforms, Tea and Rubber Estates Related Crops Cultivation and Factories Modernization and Tea and Rubber Export Promotion State Minister Kanaka Herath said on Monday in Kandy.
He said that it was to increase the national tea output with the aim of uplifting that industry since it had been observed that there had been a severe drop in tea production since 2015. Having identified the situation, the State Ministry was assisting the private sector to establish 500 tea nurseries, which could produce 25 million tea saplings per annum.
The State Minister was speaking at the ceremony launched by the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority to provide financial and physical subsidies including water pumps to new tea nurseries in the Kandy district. The programme was held under the theme ‘A revival of the golden leaf’ (Ran Dallata Nawodayak) at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Kandy.
He said that the government would purchase those tea plants from nursery owners at a price of Rs 26 per sapling.
“Under this programme, 500 tea planters in the country will be provided with cash and water pumps. The President understands the value of the tea sector and has focused on it with a vision of prosperity” the State Minister added.
According to him, with the 2021 Budget Proposal the government has doubled the allocations to the tea sector.
State Minister Herath said that when the country’s exports collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign exchange however continued to flow into the country from the tea industry despite the drop in production in the past five years.
He said the tea production had fallen from 340 million kilos in 2014 to 290 million kilos in recent years, adding that the drought had also severely affected the current year’s tea production.
The State Minister said that about 75 per cent of the total tea production in the country came from small tea estates. He said that plans were afoot to increase tea production in the next five years and that a revival of the golden leaf is expected to achieve that goal.
Members of Parliament Gunathilake Rajapaksa, Attorney-at-Law Udayana Kirindagoda, Prof. Ranjith Bandara and Regional Manager, Tea Small Holdings Development Authority, Kandy Gemunu Ranasinghe, were present at the occasion.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
